Tehran, Iran has issued a warning to Israel Wednesday, with a number of senior military officers said that Iran will “punish” any threat.
“America is fully aware that a military attack by the Zionist regime against Iran will not only cause enormous damage to this system, but also cause serious damage in the U.S.,” said General Hassan Firouzabadi , head of Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
“We in the military, to take all threats, even distant and unlikely to be very real, and are fully prepared to use the proper equipment to punish any mistake,” he said, according to a CNN translation of their statements.
Another semi-official news agency of Iran, ISNA, published an article quoting English Firouzabadi as saying: “U.S. officials know that a military attack against Iran Zionist regime will cause serious damage to the United States seriously , so that the Zionist regime. ”
The Israeli Ministry of Defense said Wednesday that Israel “carried out the test firing of a rocket propulsion system of the army Palmachim base. It was planned by the defense system is a long time and was performed planned. ”
“This technology is an impressive achievement and a milestone in Israel, advances in the fields of missiles and space,” said Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
The comments of Iran and the Israeli missile test comes as a debate is taking place in Israel on a possible military strike against Tehran.
Last week, the biggest newspaper in Israel, Yediot Aharonot, published a report suggesting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Barak therefore supported a strike against Iran’s nuclear program.
This story was followed yesterday by a report in Haaretz that Netanyahu was lobbying members of his cabinet to support a military strike against Iran, despite the various difficulties inherent in this type of operation. The document attributes the information to a senior Israeli official, but did not reveal the identity of his source.
Israel and U.S. officials have expressed concern that Iran is building nuclear weapons, despite Tehran’s insistence that its nuclear program is peaceful energy.
The publication of two reports in the Israeli media drew criticism from members of the cabinet.
“A public debate on this is simply outrageous. I do not think we ever had something like that, “said Dan Meridor, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Intelligence, the Israeli daily Maariv.” The public has elected a government to make decisions about these things in secret. The public’s right to know not to include the discussion of matters classified as that. ”
Speaking to Israel Radio, Benny Begin, minister without portfolio, called the public debate on Iran “a crazy free for all” and criticized the former Israeli intelligence officials speaking too openly about the deliberations of the Government of Iran.
The prime minister’s office declined to comment on the reports of newspapers and journalists covered his comments on Iran Monday.
“The regional powers that control the Middle East to try to ensure they have a greater influence on the new systems – the influence is not always to support or be beneficial for us to say the least “said Netanyahu during the Israeli legislators opening session of the Knesset.
“One of these regional forces is Iran, which continues its efforts to obtain nuclear weapons. A nuclear Iran would be a serious threat in the Middle East and around the world. And, of course, poses a serious threat to us directly too … We operate and continue to function with strength and determination against those who threaten the security of the State of Israel and its citizens. ”
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/02/world/meast/iran-israel/index.html?hpt=wo_bn11
